Good Mornings vs. SLDL

[AirWolf]

Good mornings or Straight/Stiff legged Dead Lifts - which do you do and why?

For each - how does the weight you use compare to your deadlifting weight?

Thanks.

-Wolf

 

[petpre61]

I prefer SLDL, I feel kind of awkward doing GMs. the load is higher and they work your hamstrings better.

 

[AirWolf]

I prefer SLDL, I feel kind of awkward doing GMs. the load is higher and they work your hamstrings better.

That's been my issue w/ Good Mornings too...I keep thinking I'm doing them wrong because the weight feels like its rolling around on my shoulders.

At the lower weight/higher reps I've been using the same weight for SLDL and deads and trying to keep it that way for high weight/low reps - but my form breaks down a bit and I don't feel I take the bar down low enough.

 

[BadboyAl]

i used to love gm's until i realized that my lower back injury kept occurring after gm workouts, on the other hand deadlifts weren't hurting my back... dl'ing helped my dl more than gm's...
i was doing 385 for reps of 5 on gms.. used to live for them, but my dl didnt take off until i stopped stiff legging my dls and started to drop my ass like a squat...

 

[The Shadow]

STiff DUMBELL deads


SEATED GMS

 

[Illuminati]

just like badboyal said, i stay away from GM's due to a back injury. i personally think that they are dangerous, and they are the cause of many people having back problems

 

[fortunatesun]

...I keep thinking I'm doing them wrong because the weight feels like its rolling around on my shoulders.

It might help to get the bar on your traps lower than you would for squats. With GMs you want to get the bar as low as you can. This lowers your center of gravity and places more emphasis on your posterior chain, reducing exposure to your back.

 

[perp69]

I have always thought GM basically looked like a back injury just waiting to happen. They seem to fly in the face of everything you learn about proper lifting technique. So I haven't tried them. The mechanics of it would seem to me to put a lot of stress on the spine and lower back, which I guess is the purpose though.

Perp

 

[fortunatesun]

I have always thought GM basically looked like a back injury just waiting to happen. They seem to fly in the face of everything you learn about proper lifting technique. So I haven't tried them. The mechanics of it would seem to me to put a lot of stress on the spine and lower back, which I guess is the purpose though.

Perp

People say the same thing about squats and deadlifts until they learn to do them the right way. You're leading with your hips and glutes, which become the stable fulcrum for the weight. The rest is just keeping a tight torso and not getting silly with the amount on the bar.
I realize,though, some exercises just aren't everyone's cuppa tea. Feel free to dislike them anyway. I think that they are unique enough in their action to have value and help give overall balance to your workout, but I don't do them all the time, either.

 

[Khryz]

Agreed with the above post. You're not simply bending over with a rounded back - THAT would be very dangerous. With proper GM's with an arched back in your neutal spine position (very important), you first release your hips and glutes backwards and this takes lots of the load off your lower back. And holding the bar lower down will decrease the torque of the lift (and thus the relative weight) but it will be safer too if you're lower back is weak.

WSB uses this exercise with great success to aid in DL and squatting technique because most people you will see bending over slightly and maybe even GM's the weight up at the top of a squat if it's too heavy. Doing GM's for assistance work will strengthen the lower back so that won't happen, and if it does happen you'll be strong enough to keep the weight level without bending over. Technique is everything, especially with lifts like these.

 

[carlsuen]

personally i think GM's don't have to be done really heavy.. weights just enough to work that lower back would be sufficient

 

[MsBeverlyHills]

Good mornings or Straight/Stiff legged Dead Lifts - which do you do and why?

For each - how does the weight you use compare to your deadlifting weight?

Thanks.

-Wolf

I prefer SLDLs- less stress on lower back & if you f up you can dump the bar ont he ground- not so easy on good mornings. weight- SLDLs- 185, GMs - 135.

 

[perp69]

I prefer SLDLs- less stress on lower back & if you f up you can dump the bar ont he ground- not so easy on good mornings. weight- SLDLs- 185, GMs - 135.

Good point.

People say the same thing about squats and deadlifts until they learn to do them the right way. You're leading with your hips and glutes, which become the stable fulcrum for the weight. The rest is just keeping a tight torso and not getting silly with the amount on the bar.
I realize,though, some exercises just aren't everyone's cuppa tea. Feel free to dislike them anyway. I think that they are unique enough in their action to have value and help give overall balance to your workout, but I don't do them all the time, either.

I don't know. Squats and deads just seem more like a natural movement than a GM does to me. All the heavy squats and deads I do seem to keep my back strong enough-knock on wood. It just seems hard for me to think that doing GM's with light weight would strengthen the back more than what heavy deads and squats could do.

Perp

 

[fortunatesun]

I like 'em heavy. It's the one time your posterior chain has to take the brunt of the load. It just doesn't seem unnatural to me. I do SLDL or Romanian DL, also, though not as often. To me they're more of a strictly hamstring exercise instead of targeting all the tie-ins between your upper and lower body, as is the case with GMs. But as I said, it's also a matter of goals and preferences.

 

[petpre61]

I found Bill Starr's take on good mornings (it is somewhere in his posts) - he prefers the rounded back GMs

http://www.davedraper.com/forum/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/178939/page/0/fpart/2/vc/1

I have no clue if it is the real Bill Starr